Hardware Hacking x201 : IP67 Compliance

So, as we all know the Omate TrueSmart is as waterproof as a leaky boat, or perhaps a sponge.

However, I don't think there are any other Horologists on the forum at the moment. ( wikipedia horologist http:// en.wikipedia.org /wiki/horologist ).

After looking at the "seals" on the case buttons, and the laughable o-ring that Umeox/Omate have chosen to use on the back, along with the piece of silicone flap that they are using to seal the SIM card... I have to say that expecting it to be water resistant to any degree is a bit laughable.

So, I have a solution, the same one used by Rolex, Omega, Breitling, Citizen, Seiko, etc.. etc...

* Liquid silicone sealant gel on the SIM card seal and flap.
* Replace the silicone o-rings for the watch back with a thin silicone gasket, with more sealant gel
* Retrofit and replace the button seals, or create black silicone button covers that better seal them

I'm going to have to look at the speaker port on the watchband. I don't know if there is a simple solution there to make it compliant for 1 meter depth without severely affecting the quality of the sound output from that port. A brief examination makes it seem that the port -might- be able to take IP67 conditions .. but without reinforcement, I doubt it could take the forces involved in a swim, waves, wakes, spas.

Still, I think I can put together a kit, and instructions that careful and diligent people could use to retrofit the TrueSmart to make it far more waterproof than the manufacturer does. The kit would cost between $15 and $25 US, mostly to cover the cost of making custom molds for the silicone gaskets. ( There is a local TechShop here in Austin, and I have a CNC mill to make the aluminum molds, and all the design experience and software I need. Even so, a small super-accurate mold is a couple hundred dollars worth of materials and work. )

If there is enough interest evidenced here on a poll, I'll make the kit.

I've read that the O-rings are different among different runs. If the shape of the part of the case they fit against is different as well, wouldn't that make this effort require potentially as many different molds as the number of firmwares Loki has been trying to contend with? Or is it just the ring that's been different?

I think, just an opinion, that if the gasket between the body and the back cover has holes for the screws to pass through it like on my Last of the Kickstarter Dev Eds, 1/8/1900, delivered first of the USA group in early Feb, then that gasket works if properly placed and screwed together. The housing on these is flat, without raised screw hole posts and no groove.

I think the main problem you are going to need to overcome is the buttons and the mic pinhole leaking.

The speaker, if it doesn't mind getting wet itself, provides no entry path into the body if the wire set going in has been properly sealed inside (white sealant on mine, I think). Water could destroy the speaker, OK maybe, but not the watch unless it can follow the speaker connections back up into the body. Where the band halves meet the body on both sides there is a hole through the body to let the cables through, sealed inside with some white stuff. Maybe sealed...

For what it's worth, I've submerged (no more than 2ft) my NA 1gb/8gb OTS and used it in the shower after having opened the bottom. During the first week I was constantly checking inside the case for internal moisture and didn't see any. It's been a while, but I remember thinking the physical buttons looked like they would let water in if used while underwater, but that didn't seem to happen.

for giggles, my omate arrived with bad software, and only pulling the battery would fix it. I had first tried letting the battery die out but the vcom drivers didn't fully take until i pulled the battery, so the water seal warranty was moot from early on. I don't remember how long I waited, but I sent the following screen to cecilia and a few other mailboxes at omate for help with no response (surprise!) before pulling the battery and stepping through the restore guides.

Looking back, I can't even imagine how the bootloader got to be so trashed! Volume up and down you say?

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